The Majority of companies eliminated their internal policy of matching their employees' 401k, but that looks like it is going to change in the upcoming months. The cutbacks were instituted in 2008-2009 due to the lack of funds companies had. Consumers cut their spending and companies needed to do the same.
This was never a permanent decision says companies like Motorola and Fed-Ex. It was merely a short-term fix to cut their excess spending and offset the credit crunch. The good news is that companies say that they will reinstitute their policies of matching 401k contributions in 2010. This is good news for consumers and the economy. It shows that the economy is on the upturn since companies have the cash, or at least forecast that they will, to have such expenses. It is also a testament to consumer spending. This indicates that companies revenue is increasing this means that also consumer spending is also increasing. And according to the Bureau of Economic analysis, in August, personal income has increased over 19 billion dollars and disposable income increased over 15 billion dollars. The advice I would give to US consumers is to check with their employer on the 401k matching policy and increase their savings in their 401k, especially if they had taken money out of their account over the past year.
Good to hear that the elimination of 401Ks may not be permenant and things are starting to look up.
ReplyDelete-Laura Reginelli